Bolton Wanderers 1 Chelsea 5: Hat-trick arrives at perfect time for Lampard to quell selection doubts

Lampard, who has been in and out of the team for both club and country recently, demonstrated that he still has plenty to offer by netting twice before the break and once in the second half at the Reebok Stadium, following up his midweek goal for the Blues in their 1-1 Champions League draw with Valencia in style.

As acknowledged by Chelsea boss Villas-Boas, Lampard has clearly not lost the knack of judging exactly when to arrive in the box. And with England playing Montenegro on Friday, the former West Ham man also knows when it is a perfect time to remind people of his qualities.

“It was good for him because he had a good, solid performance alongside the rest of the team,” said Villas-Boas.

“He arrived with perfect timing into the box as he has done in the past years. His talent was never in question.”

As well as 33-year-old Lampard, another star of the show was 22-year-old former Bolton loanee Daniel Sturridge, who gave his old club a torrid time and netted Chelsea’s two other goals.

As far as Villas-Boas – himself only 33 – is concerned, players’ ages are not an important issue.

“It is not a question of age – it is a question of competence, and this squad is full of competence,” Villas-Boas said. “The talent of the players is never in question and I think we have enough talent to try to continue to challenge for the Premier League.”

The result means Chelsea go back up to third in the table and are once again three points away from pace-setters Manchester United and Manchester City.

The Blues cut through the hosts’ defence at will in the first half, with Lampard and Sturridge – scorer of eight goals in 12 games for Bolton last season – both netting twice, two errors in quick succession by goalkeeper Adam Bogdan allowing each player their second.

Dedryck Boyata scored his first Wanderers goal soon after the restart, but it counted for little as Lampard dispatched his third of the day in the 59th minute.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle – whose team remain rock-bottom – expressed sympathy for his Hungarian goalkeeper.

“Young Adam Bogdan is going to have a terrific career, there is no doubt about it,” Coyle said.

“But the third and fourth goals should have been basic saves.

“I feel for the kid, but he has to show the character to come through that.”